Match Fixing could be a big problem

20/12/2013

Up till now, match fixing has been largely limited to the large foreign clubs. Two of Turkey’s biggest clubs, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, are barred from European competitions because of it. In Germany a referee has been jailed. The Italians have been at it for decades.

But now, English police are investigating match fixing in the lower league clubs following a tip off from a “fixer” in Singapore. Six men have been arrested including Bolton striker Delroy Facey. it’s unlikely to be a problem in the Premier League, its players are paid so much that the fixers, mainly operating in the underground betting markets of Asia, could not afford the sums needed to swing a match.

TV coverage of Premier League matches would also make it difficult for any rigging to take place as “suspicious” errors would be more carefully observed and scrutinised by fans and the media.

It’s a serious problem for football. One game between Welling and Billericay (attendance 500) attracted wagers of more than one million pounds on Thai and other Asian betting exchanges — a bigger market than a Barcelona Champions League match on the same night.